Our 14 Favorites from Legends of the Autobahn Car Show in Monterey

One hidden gem among the overwhelming Monterey Car Week is the relatively small, downright cozy Legends of the Autobahn.
What started out in 1995 as a ‘Clean Car Contest’ in a parking lot has grown to 300 or so cars, co-organized by each car club. Here are our favorites.

Tony Blevins' 2008 AMG McLaren SLR. The SLR was a 641-hp joint production of two auto industry and racing giants that was made from 2003 to 2010. Seeing one is an event—they had several at Legends.

The original Red Pig was built as a race car by AMG from a 300 SEL 6.3 and is still regarded as one of the great designs ever to take the track. There was a crowd around this car all day. The "S Klub LA" plate on the front refers to a private coach design studio in Southern California that "designs and creates high quality automobiles, with a largely artistic perspective, while always utilizing the best of the industry." Check out some of their other creations at sklubla.com.

The Mercedes 300 SL Roadster was made from 1957 to 1963.

Mercedes made the 220 version of the famous Ponton sedan from 1954 to 1959. This is a 1959, part of Richard Peterson's Fleet of Classic Cars.

1959 Mercedes 300D in Light Ivory Beige.

1965 BMW 1800ti.

1972 BMW 3.0 CS.

1972 BMW 2002 tii.

John Viglizzo's 1990 BMW M3 Sport Evolution.

The BMW 700 was made from 1959 to 1965, but the 700 Sport shown here came out in August of 1960. It got a pair of Solex carburetors and a 9.0:1 compression ratio that bumped power to a whopping 39 and a half hp. It also had a rear anti-roll bar and a ribbed oil pan required to reduce the oil temperature of the more powerful engine.

The 1973 Capri RS raced in the precursor to the DTM Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. It was a hot car at the time. This one is for sale at 2shores.com in Grass Valley, California.

The BMW E9 Coupe was made from 1968 to 1975 and did well in Touring Car competition in its day. The 3.0 CSi version came out in 1971, with a straight six bored-out to 2,986 cc, which was rounded up to 3.0 for the model name. It had a 9.5:1 compression ratio and Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, and it produced 200 hp, which was substantial for the time.

This 2024 Audi RS6 Performance is titled Project Ring Taxi. Owners Tim and Angella Tursunov of Jacksonville, Florida, have owned at least 10 Audis, including four R8 V10s and two TT RS models. Fun couple!

The Bilstein Audi R8 V10 was a real show stopper, loaded with Bilstein products. It's a 2008 model. Bilstein had a presence at the show and was handing out stickers. I got a few. Let me know if you want some.